From the author of

Step 3: Marking the 'Firing Point' for Adding the Laser Beam

The next task is to mark the point where the laser beam should start to fire out of the weapon, and add a second marker indicating the beam's approximate durationthe length of time you want it to appear onscreen.

Task: Add two markers to the Timeline by following these steps:

Use the Zoom slider to fill the Timeline with the clip you just placed on the Main_Video track.

Using the arrow keys on your keyboard, move the Current Timeline Indicator (CTI) forward a few frames at a time until you've identified the point where your actor triggers the weapon. (You may also be able to see a "jump" in the clip's audio WAV form.)

With the CTI in the correct position, press the asterisk (*) key on your keyboard's number pad to add a marker to the Timeline

Move the CTI 56 frames further up the Timeline by pressing the right-arrow key 56 times; then press the asterisk (*) key again to place a second marker (see Figure 7).

These steps mark a laser beam duration of less than a quarter of a second. If your material shows the weapon in close-up, you may want the duration to be even shorterperhaps only two frames. However, a duration longer than six frames will create a very slow-moving laser beam!

To adjust a marker, simply click it and drag it up or down the Timeline with your mouse.